A molding material suitable as an optical material and an optical recording medium formed of the molding material are disclosed. The molding material comprises a hydrogenated product of a polymer formed by ring-opening polymerization of a norbornene-type monomer, the hydrogenated product having a number average molecular weight (Mn) of 20,000 to 50,000, a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 40,000 to 80,000 and a molecular distribution (Mw/Mn) of not more than 2.5 and having a volatile content of not more than 0.3% by weight.